First Trip To The Dentist

I took the kiddos to their first dentist appointment yesterday evening (yay dental office with late hours!).  They had a separate waiting room for kids that had all kid-sized furniture, and toys and games...they loved it!  The receptionist also brings her dog to work on Thursdays, so we got to see and let a dog too which is always fun!  Our next appointment is on a Thursday too, so we'll end up with kids who think that there are dogs at dental offices...

The waiting room (Tenley especially loved it)

 I let them bring toys with to the dentist so they would feel potentially more comfortable with the situation.  Tenley was apprehensive throughout and didn't want to lay back in the chair, which is why there aren't pictures of her teeth being polised...because she was sitting in my lap for that portion of the appointment!

Ethan, on the other hand, was super excited to be at the dentist, was totally game for everything they wanted to do, and was a big fan of all of the tools they let him assist with!  He got a new Cars toothbrush too, so that helps!

I was very proud of him.  I had to stay with Tenley almost the whole time so he was on his own and did great.  A far cry from our experience with their first hair cuts, which you might remember was exactly the opposite!!

This was a lot of the time in Tenley's room...she was negotiating with the hygienist about what was and wasn't going to happen.  I think that in this picture she's explaining that she can't lay down because this chair is too big for her.

By the end she was realizing that it wasn't bad at all!  Plus, she got to hold onto the sucky-thing and do that part herself!

They both made it through the whole process flawlessly...which apparently isn't "normal" for a first appointment.  They had told me on the phone that, "If all we do is ride in the chair, then that's a success!"  So, the fact that they both got their teeth counted, polished, (a little scraping on Ethan's teeth), examined by the dentist, and fluoride foam applied without a single complaint was awesome!  They both have great teeth, no cavities, good spacing...awesome!

They also got a lot of toys upon leaving...so they're excited to get back to the dentist in 6 months.  Ethan got 6 cars in addition to his toothbrush and floss...Tenley got 2 dolls and a rainbow colored slinky (in addition to her brush, floss, and Disney Princess flossers).

We celebrated by going out to dinner at IHOP per the kids' request...where they were also exceptionally well behaved!